Falconite
by Frodo Silverlune
Summary: Link, almost the Hero of Time, realizes that in the future his ears are peirced. This is how it happened.


**Falconite**

_By FrodoSilverlune_

Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda. I just got my ears pierced last year, so this is from my experience, Link-i-fied of course. The ending can be improved, but oh well.

* * *

"Jewelry, new jewelry! Bracelets, rings, earrings! The latest styles! Getthem while you can!" 

For some reason, Link turned from examining a leather sample a couple stalls down.

A throng of ladies, young and old clustered around the peddler and his cart strung with shiny wares. Beads and sparkles captured the light of the mid afternoon sun, twinkling and dancing in the slightest breeze.

'_Ooo, shiny,'_ he found himself thinking playfully. He wondered what the crowd was watching so intently. His curiosity made him set down the leather piece.

"Thank you, I'll keep it in mind," he said politely to the tanner he had been conversing with, and sauntered casually over.

A blonde girl barely out of childhood was sitting anxiously on a stool, twisting her fingers in her blue skirt as the black-clothed peddler prepared something with his back turned. She shut her eyes in nervous anticipation.

"Ow!" The girl squeaked as the young peddler poked a needle through her ear, quickly withdrawing it and inserting a metal stud into the new hole. She held her tongue, grimacing as the procedure was quickly repeated on her other ear.

"All over!"

She let out a long sigh, reached gingerly upwards and smiled as she felt her new glass-jewel earrings.

Link gave a start as he sub-consciously felt the bottom of his own innocent earlobes, Remembering.

The Hero had pierced ears.

How old was he now? Seventeen. It had been six years since the Princess sent him back, so he had one more year until he would officially be the Hero.

His heart gave a little leap. Actually he'd been thinking about earrings for a while now. When had he first thought about it? Oh, it must have been four or five months ago when he had last seen the Princess boasting her new adornment.

He smiled. It was a little thing really, getting ears pierced. He'd gotten worse before. But still, should he really do it?

'_Why not? I won't look feminine. A lot of men have earrings.'_

His gaze wandered over the displays. No, he didn't want anything pink or sparkly. Ugh, how could girls like those things?

"Can I help you sir?"

Link's eyes snapped to the young salesman. Surprisingly he was about his own age, although slimmer and with long dark hair tied back at the nape of his neck to expose silver-studded ears. His green eyes glinted mischievously.

"Are you looking for something for your sweetheart?"

"Oh no," Link replied with a lopsided grin. "To be honest I was thinking of getting earrings myself."

"Ahh," the vendor nodded, smiling broadly. "A noble choice, if I do say so myself. In fact, I have a special collection of, shall I say, more bolder styles."

Reaching under the counter, he pulled out a large flat box, drawing back the lid to display the contents.

Link nodded. These were more to his liking. He began to get excited with anticipation.

Large, heavy studs? No. Sharp and fierce-looking balls?

'_What am I doing?'_

Ah. Carefully he pulled a hoop ring from the velvet. Was it blue or silver? It changed colors with the light.

"That, sir, is a beautiful choice. Not too imposing, not too delicate. Subtle yet with definition. The interesting color won't fade: it's made of falconite from the mountains."

Link nodded again. He liked it. He hoped the vendor didn't notice how he drew in a breath.

"Very well. I'll take two."

"And I assume you should like your ears pierced as well?"

"Yes."

'_I'm crazy,'_ Link thought as he sat down on the peddler's stool. _'Absolutely insane.'_

Young ladies previously occupied with their own shopping now began to gather around, hiding giggles behind their hands. Girls always made him awkward. He never knew how he should react. Were they flirting or simply interested in why a young man would do such an odd thing?

Well, he was no ordinary man.

The peddler pushed his hair out of the way, washed his earlobes with soap and water and patted them dry. It felt strange to have someone touching his skin.

"I'm going to mark a dot on each side to make sure the holes are even," he explained as he touched ink to the ears.

Butterflies began flitting around in his stomach. He already knew what having earrings was like, but actually getting them put in?

He sat very straight, mesmerized as he watched the peddler sterilize the needle in a candle flame.

'_Hot and sharp, oh boy.'_

"Here goes," the peddler said. Link steeled his nerves, yet almost jumped as he felt the sharp stab of the needle pass through his left ear. Almost instantly it had been withdrawn, and now the cold metal of the ring's stud slipped into the burning wound and was secured by snapping into the grove at the end of the hoop.

'_Ow.'_

The second was repeated in the same manner, and the peddler wiped the needle on a cloth with a grin.

"All done. Do you like it?"

_'Ow. Ow.'_

Link numbly reached up and delicately touched his new earrings. The metal was so foreign against his hot ears. He looked up at the peddler and smiled.

"Thank you," he said, and stood, digging into his pouch for his wallet.

_'Ow ow ow.'_

"They look good on you," a girl around his age said boldly, and her companions gasped through their giggles. Link hoped he wasn't blushing too noticeably. Were his ears bright red?

As he paid the peddler his due and moved quickly away, he thought he must be in shock. His entire brain was shut against anything save for the one impulse: 'Intruder. Ears.'

He wanted to go somewhere quiet to be alone, to contemplate what happened. If only he had someone to talk to…

Link passed a glass storefront window and caught a glimpse of his reflection. He stopped and leaned in closer, attempting to see his ears. There they were. He fingered the rings again, trying not to disturb the tender flesh around the hole. They still stung and throbbed alternately, but he hadn't really expected anything less.

'_Well, that's it. My last resemblance to Link the kid is gone. I'm all set for the Awakening.'_

Stepping away from the reflection, he took off his cap and ran his fingers through his hair.

'_It's not that bad, I guess. Navi said they made me look tough, bold. Arrogant? Maybe. Expressive?' _

As he replaced his cap he took a moment to gaze at the tall spires of the Temple of Time soaring over the marketplace. One year and the Master Sword would finally be laid to rest. Thankfully it too was sealed away until the Unveiling. It was too precious a relic to be toted around who-knows-where for seven years.

The initial trauma was beginning to wear off a bit, but he was reluctant to touch his ears again. He had seen someone with double piercing in the cartilage near the pointed ear tip once. Should he?

Link grinned as he walked away. Nah. Once was enough.

* * *

**The End**


End file.
